Tag Archives: no new coal

In a big win for humanity and common sense, the Federal Government has finally withdrawn taxpayer funding from HRL, the proposed new brown coal-fired power station in the Latrobe Valley. This should hopefully mean that the Baillieu Government will now withdraw its $50 million commitment, and the whole project will be dead.

The deadline for HRL to meet certain milestones was extended 6 times – but thanks to the work of Environment Victoria, Greenpeace, Quit Coal and many other community climate groups, including volunteers from Yarra Climate Action Now, extending the deadline once again beyond 30 June became politically untenable for the Gillard Government. Now the money can be used for something else, something productive rather than destructive.

Due to the immense power of the fossil fuel lobby, our wins can be few and far between, so this is truly one to savour. We hope it marks beginning of the end for all our coal-fired power stations, which must be urgently replaced with renewable energy like solar thermal and wind power.

HRL tried to present their technology as “clean coal”, but luckily, no one in the public bought it (our politicians did of course). There is no such thing as clean coal, and any mention of it is an unnecessary delay of the transition to zero emissions.

Copyright: Michael Bainbridge

How did we do it? With hard work. We organised petitions, doorknocked, held rallies, locked-on in government buildings, challenged the project in court and sent countless emails. The Victorian Environment Protection Authority (EPA), which shamefully approved the proposal, received over 4000 submissions on the project, the most they had ever received.

1. Quit Coal protesters chain themselves together in the foyer of the Premier’s office while others rally outside on 11 April 2011 – media coverage

2. Quit Coal makes their pledge video

3. Environment Victoria, Doctors for the Environment, Locals into Victoria’s Environment (LIVE) and individual Martin Shields challenge the EPA’s approval of the HRL project in court (the challenge was defeated)

4. Greenpeace Stop HRL video

5. Rally 1 Feb 2012 after the second last “deadline” of 31 December 2011 had passed and HRL had still not met any milestones.

Rally against plans to develop a new coal export industry in Victoria, and the government’s continuing funding of HRL’s proposed new coal power station.

Eleven days ago, eight Quit Coal activists locked together inside Premier Ted Baillieu’s electoral office. The group was calling on the Premier to publicly explain why he deceived Victorians at the last election:

ed in the Herald Sun, suggest that Victoria could be digging up 300 million tonnes of brown coal for export every year; this would triple Victoria’s annual contribution to greenhouse gas pollution! Quit Coal activists filled the Premier’s office with 70 black balloons symbolising the impact of brown coal exports; each balloon represented four million tonnes of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the annual emissions of one million Victorian cars.

After seven hours locked together in the office, the group of eight decided to leave. Despite sustained media attention, personal phone calls and emails, Baillieu refused to publicly acknowledge these community concerns. Check out coverage from channels 7 and 10 here and Fairfax papers here.

The government is intent on trying to ignore concerned groups and affected rural communities, but we will continue to fight Ted’s dirty plan to turn our state into a brown coal quarry. We think it’s time to ramp up pressure on the state government over it’s plans to expand Victoria’s dirty brown coal industry, so join us to protest against new coal power.

Thursday 28 June 12.30pm

Steps of State Parliament, Spring St, Melbourne

Who: Quit Coal, Friends of the Earth, No New Coal Bacchus Marsh, Greenpeace, and YOU!

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About YCAN

Yarra Climate Action Now is made up of people who want to see much stronger action on climate change. We are an independent community group based in the inner Melbourne suburbs of the City of Yarra. Find out more about YCAN...